Overington Park is Frankford's hidden jewel

DEEP IN THE heart of Frankford, a few blocks from SEPTA's bustling transportation center, there is a 4-acre oasis of graceful lawns, shade trees, flower gardens, winding pathways, songbirds and serenity.

The Friends Of Overington Park, wearing "FOOP" name tags, recently welcomed neighbors to a picnic and a salsa contest - where painful memories of a dish labeled "Trip to the Hospital Salsa" inspired the warning sign: "Salsa is hot! Be careful!"

Twenty years ago, when FOOP president Diane Kunze, who introduces herself as "a fanatic gardener," bought her house facing Overington Park on Orthodox Street near Leiper, the former 19th century estate was not an oasis. It was a mess.

"I was fixing up my house and building my garden for years, and I kept kicking myself in the butt," Kunze said, "telling myself, 'The park needs help. Do something.' "

She stopped kicking herself in 2003, founded FOOP with a few kindred souls from the Frankford Garden Club and recruited her husband John - "he's the muscle" - to dig a 50-foot trench alongside an ancient stone wall from the long-gone estate.

Kunze lucked into 1,200 daffodils that Longwood Gardens didn't need, planted them in John's trench and started the rebirth of Overington Park.

Today, nestled in a diverse neighborhood of homeowners, the park is Frankford's best kept secret - except to supporters ranging from Parks & Recreation and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to Frankford High School's Junior ROTC cadets.

"They're young and they're strong and they live in the neighborhood," Kunze said gratefully. "They're a godsend."

Kunze's fellow FOOPers include fervent gardener Mary Ellen Post, a retired Temple University librarian who spends her Monday mornings working in the park's flower beds.

"On a hot July day, when you're dying from the heat," Kunze said, "she's out there, planting."

Another core FOOPer, Lisa Handy, who voluntarily cleans the park daily, said she moved to Frankford to escape a rougher neighborhood.

"Nine years ago, I was pregnant with my daughter," she said. "I was living in a place where black kids and white kids were fighting each other in the street. I wanted to move into a neighborhood where everybody gets along."

She mentioned that to a friend, who replied, "Try Frankford."

Handy's daughter, now 9, has lived her whole life in the diverse harmony around Overington Park.

Milton Corbin, a neighborhood resident for 20 years, said, "The park didn't used to look like this. There was a lot of negative stuff going on. That's gone now."

His wife Alice said, "It's a thousand times cleaner than it was. We have birds, beautiful trees. It feels like you're not in the city."

Kunze smiled and said, "I look around this park and I see people happy and I believe that gardening and green space lightens the soul. It takes everybody to make this park happen. This really is a community of caring people.

"We're really sick of hearing that every time something bad happens, it's Frankford," Kunze said. "Frankford is a jewel if you open your eyes and take a look." .